Exploration and Mining in the Omineca and Northeast Regions, British Columbia
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Exploration and mining in the Omineca and Northeast regions, British Columbia C. Paul Jago1, a 1 Regional Geologist, British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines, Suite 350, 1011 Fourth Avenue, Prince George, BC, V2L 3H9 a corresponding author: [email protected] Recommended citation: Jago, C.P., 2015. Exploration and mining in the Omineca and Northeast regions, British Columbia. In: Exploration and Mining in British Columbia, 2014. British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines, British Columbia Geological Survey, Information Circular 2015-2, pp. 1-27. 1. Introduction 46% of mineral production in 2014. The low-ash, low-sulphur The Omineca Region is prospective for metals including bituminous coal in the region is internationally recognized for niobium, rare-earth elements (REE), molybdenum, nickel, producing high-quality coke, a key ingredient in steel making. copper, zinc, lead, silver and gold, whereas coal is of primary In concert with international oversupply and price decreases, focus in the Northeast Region (Fig. 1). coal production and exploration decreased in 2014. Total The main deposit types explored for in the Omineca region exploration expenditure was $50 million (Fig. 3), mainly from (Figs. 1, 2) were epithermal gold-silver (Nechako Plateau), mine evaluation-stage and advanced-stage projects, a 39% porphyry copper-gold (Nechako Plateau, Quesnel Trough and drop from 2013 (Fig. 4). Drilling (25,500 m) decreased 53% Toodoggone area) and stratiform zinc-lead-silver (Kechika from 2013 levels (Fig. 5). In 2014, Trough). Total exploration expenditure in 2014 is estimated at • the second component of the Mines Act Permit $42 million (Fig. 3), mainly from mine evaluation-stage and Amendment was granted for the Roman Mountain advanced-stage projects, about 59% less than in 2013 (Fig. 4). expansion, fully permitting the combined Trend- At 42,000 m, drilling was 48% less than in 2013 (Fig. 5). In Roman operation (Anglo American plc) 2014, • the fi nal two permit requirements for the Quintette • ramp-up activities continued at the Mt. Milligan mine (Babcock) mine (Teck Coal Limited) were granted, (Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.) fully permitting the proposed mine • a fi nal feasibility study was released for Blackwater • the decline at Murray River (HD Mining International (New Gold Inc.), and pre-feasibility study completed for Ltd.) was driven beyond 740 m, proceeding toward the Aley (Taseko Mines Limited) length for collecting a bulk sample • an Environmental Assessment Certifi cate application • feasibility-level exploration work began at Sukunka was submitted for Blackwater, and Project Descriptions (Glencore) (initiating the environmental assessment process) were • drilling programs were undertaken at EB and Hermann submitted for Kemess Underground (AuRico Gold (Walter Energy, Inc.), Roman Mountain, Roman Inc.) and Aley Northwest, and Waterfall (Anglo American plc), • updated resource estimates were provided for Capoose Sukunka (Glencore), and Dunlevy (Jameson Resources (New Gold Inc.), 3Ts (Independence Gold Corp.), Aley, Limited) and Blackwater • trenching and bulk sampling continued at Wapiti East • drilling programs were undertaken for porphyry copper- (Fertoz International Inc.) and a small mine application gold at Kemess East (AuRico Gold Inc.), Col-Later was submitted. (Pacifi c Empire Minerals Corp.), Blackwater South and Ridley Terminals Inc., the main port servicing the Peace Key (New Gold Inc.); low-sulfi dation epithermal or vein River Coalfi eld, continued its Capacity Realization Project, gold-silver at Fawn and Van Tine (New Gold Inc.), 3Ts which aims to double the annual terminal capacity to 24 Mt. (Independence Gold Corp.) and Green Gold (0902744 However, by mid-year the project was curtailed pending B.C. Ltd.); SEDEX zinc-lead-silver at Akie (Canada recovery of the coal market. As of September 30, outlay for the Zinc Metals Corp.), and Cirque (Teck Resources project was $15.1 million. Limited); and high-purity limestone at Giscome (Graymont Western Canada Inc.). 2. Geological overview About 18% of the province’s coal production comes from The Omineca-Northeast region is underlain by: cratonic the Peace River Coalfi eld in the Northeast Region (Figs. 1, basement rocks of ancestral North America (Laurentia); 6). Metallurgical coal has been British Columbia’s biggest Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary and carbonate mineral export commodity in recent years, representing about successions deposited on the western fl ank of ancestral North 1 Exploration and Mining in British Columbia, 2014. British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines, British Columbia Geological Survey IC 2015-2 Jago Fireside Yukon (see Kyba, NWT this volume) BC MacDonald Platform eastern NAc NAp YT Kechika Trough SM Fort Nelson CA limit KF of Cordilleran QN Mt. Alcock Groundhog Yuen North TERRANES (see Kyba, Cirque East Intermontane this volume) Yuen Pie ST Stikine Cirque Fluke UDS QN Quesnel ToodoggoneKemess area CA Akie Pink Elf Mountain East Kemess YT Yukon-Tanana Underground deformation TkF NAb NAc Thor CC Cache Creek Croy-Bloom Aley SM Slide Mountain ST RMT Fort St. Ancestral North America QN Cat John Ogden Mountain CA Cassiar-Cariboo Mountain OGK Dunlevy Peace River Hudson’s Hope NAb Kootenay TkF Takla-Rainbow Dawson Creek North America - NAp platform Manson Creek Chetwynd Kwanika Redton NAc North America - East-Smoke MM Mackenzie Brule craton and cover LEGEND Chuchi Brule x Perry Creek Region boundary Rottacker Sukunka Tumbler Ridge Major fault Col-Later EB Murray River Hermann x Major roads PF Mt. Milligan Quintette (Babcock) McLeod Waterfall x Trend-Roman Quesnel TroughLake Rail Roman NW Huguenot Communities Decar Wapiti River Coalfield Fort St. Bear Mines James QN Lake Wapiti East CC MM Metal Giscome Endako Coal x Vanderhoof Industrial Mineral Fox SM NAp RMT Alberta X placed on care and ST 2 X Fred Prince George maintenance in 2014 Green Capoose Gold PF Proposed mine Van Fawn NAb CA Tine McBride Metal Blackwater Hixon Key Coal 3Ts Industrial mineral Nechako Plateau Valemount Projects N Metal 0 100 200 Coal km Fig. 1. Mines and selected exploration projects, Omineca and Northeast regions, 2014. Terranes from Nelson et al. (2013). Fault abbreviations: KF = Kechika fault, MM = Manson-McLeod fault system, PF = Pinchi fault, RMT = Rocky Mountain trench, TkF = Takla-Finlay-Ingenika fault system. 2 Exploration and Mining in British Columbia, 2014. British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines, British Columbia Geological Survey IC 2015-2 Jago Fig. 2. Generalized stratigraphy, Omineca and Northeast regions. Selected intrusive rocks: a) Endako batholith and Laidman batholith; b) Capoose batholith and Auro pluton (Blackwater pluton); c) Chu pluton; d) Black Lake plutonic suite; e) Spike Peak intrusive suite; f) granodioritic plutons (unnamed suite); g) Hogem plutonic suite (Triassic-Jurassic); h) Hogem plutonic suite (Cretaceous) and Germansen Batholith; i) Ste. Marie plutonic suite; j) Bayonne plutonic suite; k) Wolverine Range plutonic suite; l) Aley carbonatite complex. Mineralization ages at 3Ts are represented by the microdiorite sill (2a) and hydrothermal quartz breccia vein at the margin of the Johnny vein (2b). Unit ages from Stott (1975), Diakow et al. (1993, 1997), Nelson and Bellefontaine (1996), Ferri (1997), MacIntyre (1998), and Schiarizza and MacIntyre (1998). Mineralization ages from Andrew (1988), Pell (1994), McLeish (2013), Logan and Mihalynuk, (2014), New Gold Inc. (2013), David Pawliuk (personal communication, 2014) and Ron Britton (personal communication, 2014). Geologic timescale from International Commission on Stratigraphy (2014). 3 Exploration and Mining in British Columbia, 2014. British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines, British Columbia Geological Survey IC 2015-2 Jago Slide Mountain and Cache Creek oceanic terranes, which intervene between Quesnellia and Stikinia and formed in the Late Paleozoic to Mesozoic; post-accretionary rocks; and younger cover rocks (Figs. 1, 2). 2.1. Ancestral North America In the Omineca and Northeast regions, Laurentian basement is unconformably overlain by Neoproterozic to Early Paleozoic continental, shelf, and deep-water marine siliciclastic and carbonate successions that were deposited on the western margin of ancestral North America during protracted rifting and breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia (Fig. 2, see Nelson et al, 2013 for review). Local units of the Windermere Supergroup Fig. 3. Annual exploration spending estimates in millions of dollars (Neoproterozoic) include predominantly siliciclastic rocks for the Omineca and Northeast regions from 2010 to 2014. A total of and their metamorphic equivalents (Misinchinka and Ingenika $92 million for the combined regions in 2014 was down 50% from groups; Ferri et al., 1994). The Gog Group (Lower Cambrian) 2013. unconformably overlies the Windermere Supergroup and consists mainly of sandstone, granulestone, and conglomerate. In the Northern Rocky Mountains, Early to Middle Paleozoic sedimentation is represented by units containing mainly carbonate rocks, such as the Kechika Group (Cambrian), and the Road River Group (Middle Devonian). 2.2. Cassiar, Kootenay, and Slide Mountain terranes In Devonian to Mississippian time, subduction of oceanic crust eastward beneath ancestral North America led to back-arc extension and opening of the Slide Mountain ocean. Subsidence from attenuation of the continental margin generated the Cassiar-Cariboo and Kootenay pericratonic terranes (Nelson et al., 2013). The Cassiar-Cariboo